Pater Familias
by shinigami-lives
Summary: Kakashi was the closest thing that Sasuke had to a father.


Oneshot based on a challenge from yaoi bunny farm.

Pater Familias

It is almost four years after Naruto drags him back to Konoha, almost literally by the hair, that Sasuke is finally returned to his status as a shinobi of Konoha – and this is when the ANBU guards are finally removed from dogging his every step.

By this time Sasuke is seventeen and, as far as he is aware, the only one of the so-called 'Rookie Nine' who is still a genin – even that baka Inuzuka made chuunin before he turned fifteen.

Sasuke knows that he is stronger than the whole lot of them, but he wasn't permitted to enter the chuunin exams until he had proved his loyalty to Konoha, and now that he has done so he has no team to compete alongside.

Sakura made chuunin several years ago and was working at the hospital, practicing and developing her skills as a medic-nin alongside her mentor Tsunade and her fellow apprentices Shizune and Hyuuga Hinata, who had decided almost immediately after the first chuunin exams to show the family the backbone she had grown and declare her own decision to study to become a medic-nin. Although no one dared say so in front of Hyuuga Hiashi, it was a well known fact that Hinata was going to be one of the best medics in history, perhaps even better than Tsunade-sama.

Sasuke hasn't seen or heard from Naruto in over three and a half years. Shortly after Naruto had 'beaten some sense into that thick head of yours' he had left Konoha with Jiraiya-sama and had not returned since.

The only person who had never been even vaguely worried by Naruto's prolonged absence was Tsunade-sama, who received regular letters and reports from both Naruto and Jiraiya. Sasuke heard that not long after leaving Konoha, Naruto had joined up with Sabaku no Gaara and had competed in the next chuunin exams alongside him and his sister Temari. Sasuke had also heard that Naruto had been the youngest genin ever to actually win the chuunin exams. Apparently he had Gaara had had to choose a special location for their last fight so that they would limit the amount of property damage they caused.

Naruto doesn't write to Sasuke, though he writes to several other people. As well as his regular reports and letters to the Hokage, he also writes to both Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji and Sasuke has seen Naruto's summons and Kage Bunshins struggle against almost all weather conditions to deliver a letter to Iruka-sensei at least once a month. Sasuke had even heard a rumour that somehow Naruto had found a way to deliver letter bombs to the Akatsuki headquarters, which he attempts to blow up every year for April Fools. He also writes to Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei, though those letters come less frequently.

It is in fact only from Kakashi that Sasuke ever hears about Naruto, although that is not surprising – Kakashi watched over him directly for the first year of his probation and then more indirectly afterwards. For a long time, Sasuke had only ever heard things from Kakashi. He suspected that Kakashi knew more than he told Sasuke, particularly in light of his relationship with Naruto's beloved Iruka-sensei. But Sasuke understood at least on one level why Kakashi didn't tell him things, he hadn't done much in the beginning to inspire confidences.

Sasuke realised about three years into his probation that Kakashi was the closest thing he had to a father. He had almost gotten hysterics the first time he realised this, but the fact remained that Kakashi took care of him better than anyone had since Itachi had decided that massacring his entire family sounded fun.

Kakashi trained Sasuke when he had the time and in his own special – perverted – way distracted Sasuke from his nightmares and the pain from Orochimaru's curse seal. The seal had an even stronger seal over it now, created by Jiraiya-sama and supplemented by the strange chakra of Naruto's that no one ever wanted to talk about.

Sasuke would like to think that it was this chakra that made him dream about Naruto, but he knows no amount of chakra would cause those strange arousing dreams that sometimes terrify him more than the nightmares of his family's massacre.

He wished he could hate Naruto, but he couldn't and he couldn't understand that hatred the villagers seemed to hold towards the absent shinobi, a hatred that has seemed to diminish more recently, and the looks that once were directed in the direction of Konoha's number 1 loudmouth ninja are now directed towards Sasuke.

No, Sasuke couldn't truly _hate_ Naruto and he didn't think that anyone who actually knew the blonde could. He just wished Naruto would contact him, wished that he had more family than just Kakashi.

Naruto has moved forward along with everyone else while Sasuke has been standing still and occasionally Sasuke wished that once, just once, Naruto would look back.

**owari**


End file.
